DC fans all over the world are still reeling about the recent reports regarding one of the stars of The Batman - Part II. The highly-anticipated sequel from Matt Reeves is set to arrive on the big screen in October 2027 and it has already built out an incredibly star-studded cast - one which features two Marvel stars. However, as we reported earlier this month, there has been an unexpected change to that cast, it seems.
According to industry insider Jeff Sneider, Sebastian Stan, who was thought to be playing the role of Harvey Dent in the upcoming film, has actually joined the cast as a completely different Batman villain: Victor Zsasz. This has sparked quite the response from DC Universe fans who are now contending with the fact that they won't get to see the perpetually suave Stan as Harvey Dent - or his villainous alter-ego Two-Face. And that in and of itself has left a lot of them upset.
DC fans react to Sebastian Stan potentially not playing Harvey Dent in The Batman 2
There are two great things about this particular rumored casting. One, it's that Stan will deliver an incredibly unhinged performance as the notorious Victor Zsasz if that is indeed the role he is playing, and second of all, Bryan Tyree Henry is rumored to be playing Harvey Dent instead - and that is another casting dream right there.
All that being said, there are a lot of DC fans out there mourning the potential loss of Stan's portrayal of Harvey Dent. After all, major outlets have been reporting that he would play the Gotham City District Attorney for months now, so it was widely believed that he would join the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Misha Collins in bringing Harvey - and perhaps even Two-Face - to life.
One user on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, responded to the news by calling it super disappointing". Another said that, after believing Stan to be Harvey Dent for so long at this point, the thought of him playing any other character would feel like a "betrayal". Multiple users pointed out that they think that Tyree Henry will make a great Harvey but that they felt that Stan was "the perfect casting" for the role. And another said that missing the Harvey opportunity would be "a waste of Sebastian's talent" while also adding that having Tyree Henry play the role would be "a fantastic use of [his] talent".
Another reason why fans are divided over this revelation is the fact that it could mean Stan won't have much of an on-screen relationship with his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Scarlett Johansson. While it seems that the initial plan to build out the Dent family in the Matt Reeves sequel is still very much the case, the potential cast dynamics could be completely different than originally expected if Stan is actually playing Zsasz. Johansson is set to play Harvey's wife, Gilda Dent, while Game of Thrones legend Charles Dance is set to play his father Christopher Dent.
Stan has portrayed Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, since the early days of the MCU, starring alongside Johansson's Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, in 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The two have since appeared together in Captain America: Civil War, as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The idea of seeing both of them on-screen together again - playing husband and wife - really set fans' hearts on fire. While there is still very much a chance that we could still see this come to fruition, it obviously won't if the Zsasz report turns out to be true.
Although it does go without saying that Stan would be equally equipped to deliver a stunning performance as Victor Zsasz and it would certainly subvert expectations. While him playing Harvey Dent always felt right because he looks like Harvey Dent, there is no denying what a thrilling actor he is, so he would be more than capable of diving even deeper into an unnerving role like Zsasz. And hey, he has been sporting a new bald look once more, so Zsasz may still be very much on the table.
Regardless of which roles Stan and Brian Tyree Henry end up playing in The Batman 2, we have no doubt that both of them will deliver. It will probably be sometime, however, until Warner Bros. and DC Studios officially confirm who they are playing - one way or another.
The Batman - Part II arrives in movie theaters on October 1, 2027.
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